ST. AUGUSTINE BEACH, Fla. — Marine Rescue in St. Johns County is gearing up for whatever Tropical Storm Imelda has in store for the coast.

The agency is warning beachgoers about rough surf and high tides for the next few days.

Sunday’s windy and rainy conditions ahead of the storm were enough to keep a lot of folks out of the water today, and marine rescue wants beachgoers to be prepared if they plan to be out the next few days.

“The wind did cut it short because the sand was kind of blowing in my eyes,” said Rafael Beltran as he left St. Augustine Beach.

Beltran’s relaxing walk along the beach didn’t quite go as planned Sunday with the strong wind and big, dark clouds leading him to cut it short.

With Tropical Storm Imelda working up the coast, he figures that disappointing walk will probably be his last beach excursion for the next few days.

“For safety reasons, people should keep an eye on that,” said Beltran.

One person certainly keeping an eye on that is St. Johns County Marine Rescue Lieutenant Dan Power.

Especially given their recent staffing change.

“During our lifeguard season, we tell you to go see the lifeguard chair, ask them what the conditions are like, look at the flags when you get on the beach, but we’re out of season now,” said Power.

Power says they recently took down the lifeguard chairs as we head into the fall, but Marine Rescue will have patrols driving up and down the beach as Tropical Storm Imelda passes by.

He says the end of the season also means there won’t be any flags flying for beachgoers to use to judge the conditions.

“We always say, ‘When in doubt, don’t go out,'” said Power.

Power is encouraging folks to check marine rescue’s social media pages for updates on conditions and beach accessibility through the storm.

“We’ll be making decisions on whether we close the beach to driving, that will be the first thing,” said Power. “Then, later, whether we close the beach down to everyone, which has happened in the past, but doesn’t happen very often.”

Beltran says he’ll be staying out of the water regardless of how rough the conditions get.

“It’s usually cold so I just try to walk by and that’s about it,” said Beltran.

Power mentioned they’re expecting the wind and surf to cause a lot of rip currents, then the erosion could change the layout of the coastline so his team will have to reassess where the problem areas are after the storm goes through.